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Grizz's Red neck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside BILLYBOB

481K views 5K replies 89 participants last post by  Grizz 
#1 ·
Well, after years of all sorts, including a 59 and 63 Beetle, Bay window panel camper and of course the 63 Transit van........

Bucket lists, being what they are sometimes stay just that.

But, in spite of a few setbacks recently, including redundancy, unemployment etc, I have been able to keep busy.

Gutting and rebuilding the kitchen, a bathroom etc.

Nicola, my wife also pushed me to strike out/off some of the items on my bucket list.

One was my trip to South Africa to ride 6500km with my brother on motorbikes, a lifelong dream fulfilled.
Thread link below, main pic report started on page 22.

http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=106063.0

I think most of you knew the Grizz-Mobile I bought about 5-6 years ago with the help of Oldbus in Germany.
Then there was Myrtle, Nicola's 56 Ford Anglia 100E again, fetched with the help of the Oldbus transport system.

Last year we had decided to sell both these cars in order to get one car, so that we could go to shows etc together, towing the Grizz-Pod Trailer, rather than in separate cars. Part of the deal was that I needed another job.
This happened while I was in the middle of who knows where in South Africa on a motorbike.......









 
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#2 ·
So for the last 6 months or more I have been trawling the interwebs around the world, primarily the USA and UK for another item to strike off the Bucket List.

Nicola and I had figured out we could land a Chevy truck of our own description/spec on our drive from the USA for sensible money, compared to what was available in the UK, so were prepared to do the work to find and import one as there is not a lot of choice over here.

What we wanted was basically a 1960 - 1966 Chevy C10/C20 Short Fleetside truck, with as much chrome as possible.
We like the LongFleetside and Stepside models as well, but a Short Fleet would be ideal. Extras like V8, Disc brakes, new paint (not primer or Matte black)power steering etc would be good too.

One of the important points to keep in mind was that we did not want to spend more than the other two cars had brought in.

Over the weekend I got a prompt from Andy "Motorama" on RodsnSods forum. He had a lovely Long Chevy Fleetside to sell, but of course we wanted a Short Fleetside.
So I checked out the link, loved what I saw. Contacted the seller, spoke to him for quite some time and set a time for today to go view.
In the mean time I had loads of emails, PM's and chats with various people about the trucks spec as I know NOTHING.

A Massive Thank you to all who took the time to explain to me the difference between various upgrades etc. You all made the purchase easier in the end.

That brings us to today.

We left home early and got to Rye on the coast by 10.00 and to the seller, Rob's place a little later, after I had messed up on the destination.

Turns out Rob is a trained nurse (my second trade after military)working in Stroke rehabilitation. He and his wife just had a new baby and the truck just is not right for them now, time for a sensible 4x4. He is also a hardcore biker, and allround nice guy.

After two hours of tyre kicking, a test drive (with Nicola grinning like a Meerkat on speed in the passenger seat) and more time crawling about under the truck like a drunk monkey, we decided to buy the truck.

Insurance was £98/year comprehensive, and £36/year for £3000 recovery service, including European recovery. So total cost for cover £134.00

The truck will need quite a bit of work over time to get it where we want it, but it is a good base.

You can see some of the flaws in the photos.

Here is the sellers description, which actually under sold the truck.

It had a full service carried out earlier this year, all grease points are done regularly (there are lots of them!). New battery was fitted about 3 months ago, New steering box fitted 1 month ago (from LMC Trucks US).
Engine;
It is running a period 327ci SBC V8 fitted with camel hump heads, Edelbrock manifold and carb, Edelbrock intake, Hedman headers, Flowmaster side exit pipes, HEI ignition, Carbon leads, Hi-Flo oil pump, Alloy corvette style rocker covers. 3 speed auto, column change with the obligatory 8 ball gear shifter! Also fitted starter solenoid upgrade to eliminate poor starting when warm due to the headers running close to the starter, never had a problem with starting.
Reciepts present for the majority of engine work which was carried out by a previous owner.
The engine block was painted red at this time but could do with doing again.
Body;
Painted in the states before importation, to be fair this is the weak bit, the paint is in fair condition, very thickly applied, and has helped to protect the vehicle, but there are a few runs here and there plus a couple of scabs on the rear quarters of the front wings (pic) and a small crease on the passenger door where the wind has caught it and flipped it open. The repair panels for the wings are between $10-$20 plus p+p from LMC Trucks US so cheap enough to fix.
There are no structural problems, cab corners, floor and truck chassis are solid, pickup bed is good solid sealed plywood with a rubber liner and a tight tonneau to keep the weather out.
Glass is excellent all round, lights all good and working, as are all other electrics.
Note: This is a Big Back Window truck (If you are reading this, you probably know what it means VS Small Back Window trucks)
Brakes are drums all round but have servo upgrade, very powerful.
Fuel tank relocated from inside cab, to under bed at rear, behind axle, sensible filler neck inside bed. Original fuel tank converted to packing space.
Truck has Radio/CD player fitted in steel dash, looks like it was done with a meat cleaver.
Auto Meter gauges in dash, badly fitted, but all work well.
Truck fitted with Chrome Smoothies with good white wall tyres/tires.
Rear Chrome bumper fitted and has built in towbar with American electrics.
The truck has no spare wheel.
The interior has been retrimmed along the line somewhere, bit 70's style, quilted PVC seat and headlining, classic chrome with holes steering wheel, seems to suit the truck.
I have used this this truck as my daily driver for a year, its done tip runs, carted motorcycles about, I even used it to move house, the only problem I had was the steering box giving up a few weeks ago, now the new one is on it, it is driving better than ever.
These C10's are an easy classic to live with, parts available worldwide, easy to drive and maintain.
60-66 Chevy C10/C20's have been predicted to be the next big thing as they are now being discovered. They drive like a car, but work like a truck.
And.......... you can take the BBQ to shows!!!

Truck Freshly MOT Tested on 14 June, so a year of carefree driving ahead.

I guess it is time for a few pics. It is half past
midnight in the UK.

[font size="6"][font color="e63219"]Meet BILLYBOB[/font][/font]















Where Fossil Fuels are happily converted into Smiles per mile.



Harley the fearless immediately came to mark and inspect the latest addition to the Grizz-Household.



Last pic, Happy man on his truck.

 
#3 ·
Tim "Bratman" knew that one of Nicola's conditions for getting the truck was to have a "Mexican" Blanket on the bench seat, so when we met up recently in Guildford, he brought me a grey blanket to hide in the car when we went to look at the truck, and then idea was to give it to her if we did buy the truck......
Draped over the bonnet of his '74 C30 Camper Special.

Thanks Tim.



Tim has also sourced us a Chrome towball to go with the rear bumper so that the Grizz-Pod can get around.



[font size="6"][font face="comic sans ms"][font color="52e619"]MEMPHIS FLIERS.......[/font][/font][/font]

A Rockabilly Band who had the truck before Rob had it as a daily.

Their FB page linked below, with some cool pics of the truck.

https://www.facebook.com/MemphisFlyers?fref=ts

I am trying to find out more about the other previous owner of the truck, who I believe built motorbikes and choppers.

Here are some photos of the truck in its previous guise with different wheels.



PS: Forgot the Delivery.....



Tight as a tight thing.

The future will be reverse down the drive....... a 25 point turn in front of the garage is not happening again.

Future plans for the truck are many, and will be discussed over time.

Please feel free to add info, opinions etc here.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the comments guys.



What amazing people live in forum land.

Had this posting on another forum from a guy in North Pole, Alaska.


Very nice purchase !!
That truck looks pretty nice already, just some minor touch ups I think....until you pull up the floor mats I suppose.

Real interested to see what you find now, and what you do with it.

My boss wants to build a camper from scratch like yours.

If you shoot me a PM with your mailing address, I will check to see if it isnt too pricey to send you a PS pump, and at least one, if not both the lines. It is already cleaned and painted. I dressed it up before I decided to go with Hydroboost, now it is waiting to go to the boneyard.

It would help you get closer to installing that Power Steering....
 
#10 ·
I have been looking for a Jerry can to use as a reserve to my fuel tank.....

Tonight I realized that I have the perfect jerry can, I bought it for about £5 at a boot fair last year, just coz I liked it.

Whatcha think ??



Now just need to find a decent steel trunk for the rear.
 
#15 ·
Cool truck grizz.

Not seen you driving it around town yet. :)
LOL. True. Been locked up this week as I have been pressure cleaning our paving after work for three days at about three and a half hours per day.

Going out for lunch and shopping in it today though.

Will be parked behing Coop Funeralcare in Chatham's carpark.

Look and listen today.
 
#17 ·
Virtual beer to you. Yes. Door bump stops.

Thanks re thread.

I generally dislike a thread with one photo.

And because I do a lot of stuff myself, sharing and learning from others helps me.
 
#19 ·
Great weather all weekend, got some stuff done to the truck as well.

Firstly, went out shopping in it yesterday with Nicola who still refuses to drive it, but I live in hope.

She seemed to enjoy herself all day, sitting up like a Meerkat on speed.

Back home I had a few bits of cosmetic work planned, also a few pics to take to show the relocated fuel tank.

Fuel filler sensibly placed inside, but on the side of the bed, with cap halfway up the side.



No idea what this tank came from, but it fits just right.
Also note the rear lowering blocks.



Next job was to clean up and repaint the rear bumper.

I also removed the American trailer plug unit, to be replaced with a European one.



And while I was out back and under I thought it sensible to try use a jack to push the rear bumper back into shape.



Dully masked up all the bumper after removing the rear number plate.



Result.



While waiting for the pant to dry, I played with my extendable flagpole, as we have an American car show locally on the 4th July.

 
#20 ·
The next job I started at about 11.30 today, after bootfair etc.

Nicola had suggested that I go and T-Cut (mildly abbrassive polish to remove oxidized paint) the truck after washing it yesterday.

Started with paint on the flat surfaces that looked like this......



Did a whole load of this.....twice.





Ended up with this.


I then went back to the house for a cuppa tea, a sandwich and to research the engine bays in these trucks.

It seems most are black.

My truck has so muuch over spray, it needed to be sorted sooner than later.

So out came all my old painting sheets....masking tape and soon the front end looked like this, after a lot of cleaning surfaces etc.



This is the extent of the overspray, which is something I hate. Just shows shoddy preparation.



Ended here....



Done !!

Result??



After this we went up to the farm to take a few photos.

I will post them up if anyone is interested.
 
#21 ·












The Thames river behind the truck and tractor.



I will upload some more tomorrow, my pics are high resolution, so take a while to upload.

Final one, I was looking to take a pic that I can turn into a poster.

I enjoy black and white, as well as Sepia, so will try some more.

 
#23 ·
Thanks mate.

In the ongoing introduction to the truck and all its woe's

Because I post on a variety of forums, from trains, planes and automobiles to teardrop trailers, so stuff may not be of interest to all, but I cannot write entries for every forum, so here goes.

Tonight I am posting the main dings and dents to the trim.

Right, some idiot, at some point had obviously locked themselves out of the truck, and then proceeded to try enter through the quarter light with the help of a crowbar. With the repaint 9 years ago the mirror was relocated and the holes filled with chewing gum, maybe.... The quarterlight rubber seals as rotten too, fortunately the front and rear screen seals are good.



Next up, passenger door flipped open by wind and put a crease all the way down, taking the shiny trim with it.

Not particularly repairable in my book.



Front spear passenger side.



Passenger side door and cab trim.



Fleetside rear passenger side. Inbetween the trim there used to a sticker and some idiot removed it with a screwdriver or knife, damaging the paint.
You can see how the paint has been damaged.





Driver side, some of the trim had been bent over and pushed back.



Front grille had been struck at some point over the second "E" and repaired with a ballpein hammer.
The grille is very scratched from some "attention" it had been given in the past.



There is rust on the trailing edges of the fenders that needs repairing and a variety of other bits to be fixed when the paint gets done.

More later.
 
#24 ·
And a few more from the farm

















Just goes to show, this is one photogenic truck.

Despite the flaws, it is going to be good when I am done with it.

Looking forward to it evolving with Nicola and I.
 
#25 ·
Grizz I'm guessing this is a "keeper" so I wouldn't worry too much about the trim as I'm sure most of it is avaliable or you'll pick bits up over the next year or so.

As with all your other vehicles I'm sure you will transform it into one a hell of a stunning truck :)

another thread to keep my eye on ;)
 
#26 ·
Thanks Ernie, you are very generous with your praise.

In your world, this truck is 6/10

I think it is a keeper, long as we have fossil fuels.

I have had an American truck/V8 dream since I was about 6-7 years old.
We used to drive past a wrecked 48 Chevy panel van every year for many years and I always noticed and wanted it.

I do not want to change too much mechanically, but happy to do cosmetic updates. It is a good truck.
 
#28 ·
Thanks a lot for your comments.

I am always happy to keep a tread updated if there is interrest.

Having had a 1959 and a 1963 Beetle (self restored) as well as a Baywindow panel camper a long time ago, I am always biased toward VW Aircooled cars but love old cars in general.

This truck may not be my last old car, but I hope to have good times with it for a long time.

It has a lot of development potential.
 
#29 ·
Short report tonight.

Spent the day reading clinical papers, summarizing them and did some other studying and online training.

Postman had dropped of a 8000 pound capacity towball today, it has a 32mm stem, so now I need to have the hole in the bumper enlarged to fit it.
Thanks to mate Tim for sending it.





I have also bought a pre-wired plug to fit on Saturday with Scott "Jabbo" doing all the actual work.



By 19.30 I had had dinner (thanks Nicola) and then sneaked out to the garage for some "Wax on, Wax off" action to help me unwind a bit.

Took the truck out and before I parked it, Mickey was there..... he loves the truck.

On the front bumper I used Wenol metal polish on the right, then mate Jon took a pic showing the left a bit dull.
This convinced me to take of the number plate to clean up properly at least once.



Left side not yet polished, it all came up really well, also did the front grille and rear bumper. Satisfied with the results of my efforts.



After this I took my time and polished up the Chrome smoothies..... thought they were clean, polish proved me wrong.

Next up I used Autoglym tyre/tire polish for the tyres.

Before tyre polish but after rims were done.





Couple of pics to show size perspective of the truck, in relation to my daily Audi A3 for those who are interested.





Next to Nicola's Peugeot 1007



Truck now ready for 4th of July tomorrow :beer:
 
#621 · (Edited)
Postman had dropped of a 8000 pound capacity towball today, it has a 32mm stem, so now I need to have the hole in the bumper enlarged to fit it.
Thanks to mate Tim for sending it.





I have also bought a pre-wired plug to fit on Saturday with Scott "Jabbo" doing all the actual work.

:
Nice truck. Could I ask where you got the tow ball and prewired plug from please, need one for my C10
 
#32 ·
Thanks mate. So did I ;)

After work yesterday I raced about and took the truck, with Mickey my neighbour down to a local industrial estate to see if we could get the hole for the towball enlarged.

I had spoken to an engineering shop already who said bring it in after work, but he insisted we go try an old friend he had not seen a few years.

Got to where Raj had his shop before ..... Nothing. Turns out he moved a few years ago to much bigger premises less than a kilometer away.

Got there and the big guy was not there but "the boys" were impressed by the truck and prepared to give it a go (This is now after hours and Raj allows them to earn "a drink" (English term for a few pounds for a small odd job off the books, a bit like a tip)

Out came the Mag drill and some clamps along with a bit of 10mm steel plate. The drill has a strong electro magnet that allows it to effectively clamp onto the job and work as a pillar drill. With Mickey applying the cutting compound we soon had a 40mm hole for the 32mm bolt to fit through, yes I know, but a couple of heavy duty washers will sort that out. Everything still fits correctly.



Many hands make light work.



At this point Raj came back from a job site into the shop and if Mickey was a puppy he would have peed all over Raj's feet. They obviously have good friendship that has stood the test of time.

I gave the main operator £20 for a "drink" which he was very happy with. I believe in fairness and this will allow me to go back another day with some niggly job.

Job done.

 
#33 ·
Well I had Scott "Jabbo" over here today, he got called out to work last night, so had a quick few hours sleep this morning and then came over by 13.00

Scott had wired up the Grizz-Pod Teardrop Trailer a few years ago for me, I had a regular light board which he then wired up to the Taxi cab lights I fitted to the rear.

When it cam to wiring the truck for Euro lighting, I contacted Scott to ask if he was up for a bit of abuse..... to which he thankfully agreed.

I had cut and broken some of the driveway this morning and mixed a batch of concrete to redo the bits I had removed, just wrapping up when he got here.

Soon we had the truck out, and this was the view.



I decided to mount the plug under the load body, behind the bumper for looks and also to keep it safely tucked out of harms way, so this as the result.

My mate Peter "Goose" with whom I traveled in Europe on our bikes last year and his wife came down for an evening BBQ and sleep over as they wanted to join us for bootfair in the morning.

We found via Vernier caliper that the US Spec 2" chromed towball is about 1/2mm bigger than the UK Spec 50mm towball.

So he suggested stripping back the chrome to get it to fit securely into the trailer hitch.

Some time spent in the woodwork shed, gently sanding the ball on my linisher left us with a perfect fitting union.



Of course we needed to get some photos.





Scott and his family had recently moved to a new house and behind the shed he found this......

Seems I have a spare wheel rim now. Just need to get a tyre onto it. Thanks Buddy.

Next up I will clean and refurbish the rim.



That's all for now folks.

Bootfair in the morning.
 
#34 ·
Right, went to bootfair this morning with some friends who slept over last night.
Got lots of bits n bobs.

Then right at the end, last stall, there was a steel trunk.

Asked the price..... Got it for £10.00

Been looking for a trunk to bolt into the rear of the truck to act as seat at shows, safe box for tools, jack etc and another bit of "personal decoration" to add.

Brought it home and now have to decide what route to go.

Outside is completely rusted on the surface.
Inside has been painted at some point.
It also has "The Times of India" from 4th of July 1945 stuck in the bottom, fairly messed up, but we want to protect or keep it in there.

Advice needed please How do I keep the interior with the paper stuck to it in one piece and what way is the best for the outside?

My thoughts are clear varnish inside and clear lacquer on the outside with some pinstriping later when I can afford to have it done.

Latches are all brass.





 
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